The conserved 11 zinc-finger protein CTCF is involved in several transcriptional mechanisms, including insulation and enhancer blocking. We had previously identified two composite elements consisting of a CTCF and a TR binding site at the chicken lysozyme and the human c-myc genes. Using these it has been demonstrated that thyroid hormone mediates the relief of enhancer blocking even though CTCF remains bound to its binding site. Here we wished to determine whether CTCF and TR combined sites are representative of a general feature of the genome, and whether such sites are functional in regulating enhancer blocking. Genome wide analysis revealed that about 18% of the CTCF regions harbored at least one of the four different palindromic or repeated sequence arrangements typical for the binding of TR homodimers or TR/RXR heterodimers. Functional analysis of 10 different composite elements of thyroid hormone responsive genes was performed using episomal constructs. The episomal system allowed recapitulating CTCF mediated enhancer blocking function to be dependent on poly (ADP)-ribose modification and to mediate histone deacetylation. Furthermore, thyroid hormone sensitive enhancer blocking could be shown for one of these new composite elements. Remarkably, not only did the regulation of enhancer blocking require functional TR binding, but also the basal enhancer blocking activity of CTCF was dependent on the binding of the unliganded TR. Thus, a number of composite CTCF/TR binding sites may represent a subset of other modular CTCF composite sites, such as groups of multiple CTCF sites or of CTCF/Oct4, CTCF/Kaiso or CTCF/Yy1 combinations.

Electroporation of the chick embryonic neural tube has many advantages such as being quick and efficient for the expression of foreign genes into neuronal cells. In this manuscript we provide a method that demonstrates uniquely how to electroporate DNA into the avian hindbrain at E2.75 in order to specifically label a subset of neuronal progenitors, and how to follow their axonal projections and synaptic targets at much advanced stages of development, up to E14.5. We have utilized novel genetic tools including specific enhancer elements, Cre/Lox - based plasmids and the PiggyBac-mediated DNA transposition system to drive GFP expression in a subtype of hindbrain cells (the dorsal most subgroup of interneurons, dA1). Axonal trajectories and targets of dA1 axons are followed at early and late embryonic stages at various brainstem regions. This strategy contributes advanced techniques for targeting cells of interest in the embryonic hindbrain and for tracing circuit formation at multiple stages of development.

Institutions: Pace University, University of California, San Diego, Braunschweig University of Technology.

In vivo electroporation is a powerful method for delivering DNA expression plasmids, RNAi reagents, and morpholino anti-sense oligonucleotides to specific regions of developing embryos, including those of C. elegans, chick, Xenopus, zebrafish, and mouse 1. In zebrafish, in vivo electroporation has been shown to have excellent spatial and temporal resolution for the delivery of these reagents 2-7. The temporal resolution of this method is important because it allows for incorporation of these reagents at specific stages in development. Furthermore, because expression from electroporated vectors occurs within 6 hours 7, this method is more timely than transgenic approaches. While the spatial resolution can be extremely precise when targeting a single cell 2, 6, it is often preferable to incorporate reagents into a specific cell population within a tissue or structure. When targeting multiple cells, in vivo electroporation is efficient for delivery to a specific region of the embryo; however, particularly within the developing nervous system, it is difficult to target specific cell types solely through spatially discrete electroporation. Alternatively, enhancer trap transgenic lines offer excellent cell type-specific expression of transgenes 8. Here we describe an approach that combines transgenic Gal4-based enhancer trap lines 8 with spatially discrete in vivo electroporation 7, 9 to specifically target developing neurons of the zebrafish olfactory bulb. The Et(zic4:Gal4TA4,UAS:mCherry)hzm5 (formerly GA80_9) enhancer trap line previously described 8, displays targeted transgenic expression of mCherry mediated by a zebrafish optimized Gal4 (KalTA4) transcriptional activator in multiple regions of the developing brain including hindbrain, cerebellum, forebrain, and the olfactory bulb. To target GFP expression specifically to the olfactory bulb, a plasmid with the coding sequence of GFP under control of multiple Gal4 binding sites (UAS) was electroporated into the anterior end of the forebrain at 24-28 hours post-fertilization (hpf). Although this method incorporates plasmid DNA into multiple regions of the forebrain, GFP expression is only induced in cells transgenically expressing the KalTA4 transcription factor. Thus, by using the GA080_9 transgenic line, this approach led to GFP expression exclusively in the developing olfactory bulb. GFP expressing cells targeted through this approach showed typical axonal projections, as previously described for mitral cells of the olfactory bulb 10. This method could also be used for targeted delivery of other reagents including short-hairpin RNA interference expression plasmids, which would provide a method for spatially and temporally discrete loss-of-function analysis.

Institutions: Michigan State University (MSU), Michigan State University (MSU).

Light mediates an array of developmental and adaptive processes throughout the life cycle of a plant. Plants utilize light-absorbing molecules called photoreceptors to sense and adapt to light. The red/far-red light-absorbing phytochrome photoreceptors have been studied extensively. Phytochromes exist as a family of proteins with distinct and overlapping functions in all higher plant systems in which they have been studied1. Phytochrome-mediated light responses, which range from seed germination through flowering and senescence, are often localized to specific plant tissues or organs2. Despite the discovery and elucidation of individual and redundant phytochrome functions through mutational analyses, conclusive reports on distinct sites of photoperception and the molecular mechanisms of localized pools of phytochromes that mediate spatial-specific phytochrome responses are limited. We designed experiments based on the hypotheses that specific sites of phytochrome photoperception regulate tissue- and organ-specific aspects of photomorphogenesis, and that localized phytochrome pools engage distinct subsets of downstream target genes in cell-to-cell signaling. We developed a biochemical approach to selectively reduce functional phytochromes in an organ- or tissue-specific manner within transgenic plants. Our studies are based on a bipartite enhancer-trap approach that results in transactivation of the expression of a gene under control of the Upstream Activation Sequence (UAS) element by the transcriptional activator GAL43. The biliverdin reductase (BVR) gene under the control of the UAS is silently maintained in the absence of GAL4 transactivation in the UAS-BVR parent4. Genetic crosses between a UAS-BVR transgenic line and a GAL4-GFP enhancer trap line result in specific expression of the BVR gene in cells marked by GFP expression4. BVR accumulation in Arabidopsis plants results in phytochrome chromophore deficiency in planta5-7. Thus, transgenic plants that we have produced exhibit GAL4-dependent activation of the BVR gene, resulting in the biochemical inactivation of phytochrome, as well as GAL4-dependent GFP expression. Photobiological and molecular genetic analyses of BVR transgenic lines are yielding insight into tissue- and organ-specific phytochrome-mediated responses that have been associated with corresponding sites of photoperception4, 7, 8. Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) of GFP-positive, enhancer-trap-induced BVR-expressing plant protoplasts coupled with cell-type-specific gene expression profiling through microarray analysis is being used to identify putative downstream target genes involved in mediating spatial-specific phytochrome responses. This research is expanding our understanding of sites of light perception, the mechanisms through which various tissues or organs cooperate in light-regulated plant growth and development, and advancing the molecular dissection of complex phytochrome-mediated cell-to-cell signaling cascades.

Protein-protein interactions mediate most of the processes in the living cell and control homeostasis of the organism. Impaired protein interactions may result in disease, making protein interactions important drug targets. It is thus highly important to understand these interactions at the molecular level. Protein interactions are studied using a variety of techniques ranging from cellular and biochemical assays to quantitative biophysical assays, and these may be performed either with full-length proteins, with protein domains or with peptides. Peptides serve as excellent tools to study protein interactions since peptides can be easily synthesized and allow the focusing on specific interaction sites. Peptide arrays enable the identification of the interaction sites between two proteins as well as screening for peptides that bind the target protein for therapeutic purposes. They also allow high throughput SAR studies. For identification of binding sites, a typical peptide array usually contains partly overlapping 10-20 residues peptides derived from the full sequences of one or more partner proteins of the desired target protein. Screening the array for binding the target protein reveals the binding peptides, corresponding to the binding sites in the partner proteins, in an easy and fast method using only small amount of protein.
In this article we describe a protocol for screening peptide arrays for mapping the interaction sites between a target protein and its partners. The peptide array is designed based on the sequences of the partner proteins taking into account their secondary structures. The arrays used in this protocol were Celluspots arrays prepared by INTAVIS Bioanalytical Instruments. The array is blocked to prevent unspecific binding and then incubated with the studied protein. Detection using an antibody reveals the binding peptides corresponding to the specific interaction sites between the proteins.

Mast cells play important roles in allergic disease and immune defense against parasites. Once activated (e.g. by an allergen), they degranulate, a process that results in the exocytosis of allergic mediators. Modulation of mast cell degranulation by drugs and toxicants may have positive or adverse effects on human health. Mast cell function has been dissected in detail with the use of rat basophilic leukemia mast cells (RBL-2H3), a widely accepted model of human mucosal mast cells3-5. Mast cell granule component and the allergic mediator β-hexosaminidase, which is released linearly in tandem with histamine from mast cells6, can easily and reliably be measured through reaction with a fluorogenic substrate, yielding measurable fluorescence intensity in a microplate assay that is amenable to high-throughput studies1. Originally published by Naal et al.1, we have adapted this degranulation assay for the screening of drugs and toxicants and demonstrate its use here.
Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent that is present in many consumer products and has been found to be a therapeutic aid in human allergic skin disease7-11, although the mechanism for this effect is unknown. Here we demonstrate an assay for the effect of triclosan on mast cell degranulation. We recently showed that triclosan strongly affects mast cell function2. In an effort to avoid use of an organic solvent, triclosan is dissolved directly into aqueous buffer with heat and stirring, and resultant concentration is confirmed using UV-Vis spectrophotometry (using ε280 = 4,200 L/M/cm)12. This protocol has the potential to be used with a variety of chemicals to determine their effects on mast cell degranulation, and more broadly, their allergic potential.

Estrogen plays vital roles in mammary gland development and breast cancer progression. It mediates its function by binding to and activating the estrogen receptors (ERs), ERα, and ERβ. ERα is frequently upregulated in breast cancer and drives the proliferation of breast cancer cells. The ERs function as transcription factors and regulate gene expression. Whereas ERα's regulation of protein-coding genes is well established, its regulation of noncoding microRNA (miRNA) is less explored. miRNAs play a major role in the post-transcriptional regulation of genes, inhibiting their translation or degrading their mRNA. miRNAs can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors and are also promising biomarkers. Among the miRNA assays available, microarray and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) have been extensively used to detect and quantify miRNA levels. To identify miRNAs regulated by estrogen signaling in breast cancer, their expression in ERα-positive breast cancer cell lines were compared before and after estrogen-activation using both the µParaflo-microfluidic microarrays and Dual Labeled Probes-low density arrays. Results were validated using specific qPCR assays, applying both Cyanine dye-based and Dual Labeled Probes-based chemistry. Furthermore, a time-point assay was used to identify regulations over time. Advantages of the miRNA assay approach used in this study is that it enables a fast screening of mature miRNA regulations in numerous samples, even with limited sample amounts. The layout, including the specific conditions for cell culture and estrogen treatment, biological and technical replicates, and large-scale screening followed by in-depth confirmations using separate techniques, ensures a robust detection of miRNA regulations, and eliminates false positives and other artifacts. However, mutated or unknown miRNAs, or regulations at the primary and precursor transcript level, will not be detected. The method presented here represents a thorough investigation of estrogen-mediated miRNA regulation.

Synthetic biology aims to rationally design and build synthetic circuits with desired quantitative properties, as well as provide tools to interrogate the structure of native control circuits. In both cases, the ability to program gene expression in a rapid and tunable fashion, with no off-target effects, can be useful. We have constructed yeast strains containing the ACT1 promoter upstream of a URA3 cassette followed by the ligand-binding domain of the human estrogen receptor and VP16. By transforming this strain with a linear PCR product containing a DNA binding domain and selecting against the presence of URA3, a constitutively expressed artificial transcription factor (ATF) can be generated by homologous recombination. ATFs engineered in this fashion can activate a unique target gene in the presence of inducer, thereby eliminating both the off-target activation and nonphysiological growth conditions found with commonly used conditional gene expression systems. A simple method for the rapid construction of GFP reporter plasmids that respond specifically to a native or artificial transcription factor of interest is also provided.

The thyroid is a bilobated endocrine gland localized at the base of the neck, producing the thyroid hormones T3, T4, and calcitonin. T3 and T4 are produced by differentiated thyrocytes, organized in closed spheres called follicles, while calcitonin is synthesized by C-cells, interspersed in between the follicles and a dense network of blood capillaries. Although adult thyroid architecture and functions have been extensively described and studied, the formation of the “angio-follicular” units, the distribution of C-cells in the parenchyma and the paracrine communications between epithelial and endothelial cells is far from being understood.
This method describes the sequential steps of mouse embryonic thyroid anlagen dissection and its culture on semiporous filters or on microscopy plastic slides. Within a period of four days, this culture system faithfully recapitulates in vivo thyroid development. Indeed, (i) bilobation of the organ occurs (for e12.5 explants), (ii) thyrocytes precursors organize into follicles and polarize, (iii) thyrocytes and C-cells differentiate, and (iv) endothelial cells present in the microdissected tissue proliferate, migrate into the thyroid lobes, and closely associate with the epithelial cells, as they do in vivo.
Thyroid tissues can be obtained from wild type, knockout or fluorescent transgenic embryos. Moreover, explants culture can be manipulated by addition of inhibitors, blocking antibodies, growth factors, or even cells or conditioned medium. Ex vivo development can be analyzed in real-time, or at any time of the culture by immunostaining and RT-qPCR.
In conclusion, thyroid explant culture combined with downstream whole-mount or on sections imaging and gene expression profiling provides a powerful system for manipulating and studying morphogenetic and differentiation events of thyroid organogenesis.

The aim of de novo protein design is to find the amino acid sequences that will fold into a desired 3-dimensional structure with improvements in specific properties, such as binding affinity, agonist or antagonist behavior, or stability, relative to the native sequence. Protein design lies at the center of current advances drug design and discovery. Not only does protein design provide predictions for potentially useful drug targets, but it also enhances our understanding of the protein folding process and protein-protein interactions. Experimental methods such as directed evolution have shown success in protein design. However, such methods are restricted by the limited sequence space that can be searched tractably. In contrast, computational design strategies allow for the screening of a much larger set of sequences covering a wide variety of properties and functionality. We have developed a range of computational de novo protein design methods capable of tackling several important areas of protein design. These include the design of monomeric proteins for increased stability and complexes for increased binding affinity.
To disseminate these methods for broader use we present Protein WISDOM (http://www.proteinwisdom.org), a tool that provides automated methods for a variety of protein design problems. Structural templates are submitted to initialize the design process. The first stage of design is an optimization sequence selection stage that aims at improving stability through minimization of potential energy in the sequence space. Selected sequences are then run through a fold specificity stage and a binding affinity stage. A rank-ordered list of the sequences for each step of the process, along with relevant designed structures, provides the user with a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the design. Here we provide the details of each design method, as well as several notable experimental successes attained through the use of the methods.

Prototrophic bacteria grow on M-9 minimal salts medium supplemented with glucose (M-9 medium), which is used as a carbon and energy source. Auxotrophs can be generated using a transposome. The commercially available, Tn5-derived transposome used in this protocol consists of a linear segment of DNA containing an R6Kγ replication origin, a gene for kanamycin resistance and two mosaic sequence ends, which serve as transposase binding sites. The transposome, provided as a DNA/transposase protein complex, is introduced by electroporation into the prototrophic strain, Enterobacter sp. YSU, and randomly incorporates itself into this host’s genome. Transformants are replica plated onto Luria-Bertani agar plates containing kanamycin, (LB-kan) and onto M-9 medium agar plates containing kanamycin (M-9-kan). The transformants that grow on LB-kan plates but not on M-9-kan plates are considered to be auxotrophs. Purified genomic DNA from an auxotroph is partially digested, ligated and transformed into a pir+ Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain. The R6Kγ replication origin allows the plasmid to replicate in pir+ E. coli strains, and the kanamycin resistance marker allows for plasmid selection. Each transformant possesses a new plasmid containing the transposon flanked by the interrupted chromosomal region. Sanger sequencing and the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) suggest a putative identity of the interrupted gene. There are three advantages to using this transposome mutagenesis strategy. First, it does not rely on the expression of a transposase gene by the host. Second, the transposome is introduced into the target host by electroporation, rather than by conjugation or by transduction and therefore is more efficient. Third, the R6Kγ replication origin makes it easy to identify the mutated gene which is partially recovered in a recombinant plasmid. This technique can be used to investigate the genes involved in other characteristics of Enterobacter sp. YSU or of a wider variety of bacterial strains.

Genetic information encoded by DNA is organized in a complex and highly regulated chromatin structure. Each chromosome occupies a specific territory, that may change according to stage of development or cell cycle. Gene expression can occur in specialized transcriptional factories where chromatin segments may loop out from various chromosome territories, leading to co-localization of DNA segments which may exist on different chromosomes or far apart on the same chromosome. The Associated Chromosome Trap (ACT) assay provides an effective methodology to identify these long-range DNA associations in an unbiased fashion by extending and modifying the chromosome conformation capture technique. The ACT assay makes it possible for us to investigate mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in trans, and can help explain the relationship of nuclear architecture to gene expression in normal physiology and during disease states.

Glucocorticoid stress hormones and their artificial derivatives are widely used drugs to treat inflammation, but long-term treatment with glucocorticoids can lead to severe side effects. Test systems are needed to search for novel compounds influencing glucocorticoid signaling in vivo or to determine unwanted effects of compounds on the glucocorticoid signaling pathway. We have established a transgenic zebrafish assay which allows the measurement of glucocorticoid signaling activity in vivo and in real-time, the GRIZLY assay (Glucocorticoid Responsive In vivo Zebrafish Luciferase activitY). The luciferase-based assay detects effects on glucocorticoid signaling with high sensitivity and specificity, including effects by compounds that require metabolization or affect endogenous glucocorticoid production. We present here a detailed protocol for conducting chemical screens with this assay. We describe data acquisition, normalization, and analysis, placing a focus on quality control and data visualization. The assay provides a simple, time-resolved, and quantitative readout. It can be operated as a stand-alone platform, but is also easily integrated into high-throughput screening workflows. It furthermore allows for many applications beyond chemical screening, such as environmental monitoring of endocrine disruptors or stress research.

Chromatin is a highly dynamic nucleoprotein complex made of DNA and proteins that controls various DNA-dependent processes. Chromatin structure and function at specific regions is regulated by the local enrichment of histone post-translational modifications (hPTMs) and variants, chromatin-binding proteins, including transcription factors, and DNA methylation. The proteomic characterization of chromatin composition at distinct functional regions has been so far hampered by the lack of efficient protocols to enrich such domains at the appropriate purity and amount for the subsequent in-depth analysis by Mass Spectrometry (MS). We describe here a newly designed chromatin proteomics strategy, named ChroP (Chromatin Proteomics), whereby a preparative chromatin immunoprecipitation is used to isolate distinct chromatin regions whose features, in terms of hPTMs, variants and co-associated non-histonic proteins, are analyzed by MS. We illustrate here the setting up of ChroP for the enrichment and analysis of transcriptionally silent heterochromatic regions, marked by the presence of tri-methylation of lysine 9 on histone H3. The results achieved demonstrate the potential of ChroP in thoroughly characterizing the heterochromatin proteome and prove it as a powerful analytical strategy for understanding how the distinct protein determinants of chromatin interact and synergize to establish locus-specific structural and functional configurations.

Transgenic mice carrying site-specific genome modifications (knockout, knock-in) are of vital importance for dissecting complex biological systems as well as for modeling human diseases and testing therapeutic strategies. Recent advances in the use of designer nucleases such as zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) 9 system for site-specific genome engineering open the possibility to perform rapid targeted genome modification in virtually any laboratory species without the need to rely on embryonic stem (ES) cell technology. A genome editing experiment typically starts with identification of designer nuclease target sites within a gene of interest followed by construction of custom DNA-binding domains to direct nuclease activity to the investigator-defined genomic locus. Designer nuclease plasmids are in vitro transcribed to generate mRNA for microinjection of fertilized mouse oocytes. Here, we provide a protocol for achieving targeted genome modification by direct injection of TALEN mRNA into fertilized mouse oocytes.

In vivo methods such as ChIP-chip are well-established techniques used to determine global gene targets for transcription factors. However, they are of limited use in exploring bacterial two component regulatory systems with uncharacterized activation conditions. Such systems regulate transcription only when activated in the presence of unique signals. Since these signals are often unknown, the in vitro microarray based method described in this video article can be used to determine gene targets and binding sites for response regulators. This DNA-affinity-purified-chip method may be used for any purified regulator in any organism with a sequenced genome. The protocol involves allowing the purified tagged protein to bind to sheared genomic DNA and then affinity purifying the protein-bound DNA, followed by fluorescent labeling of the DNA and hybridization to a custom tiling array. Preceding steps that may be used to optimize the assay for specific regulators are also described. The peaks generated by the array data analysis are used to predict binding site motifs, which are then experimentally validated. The motif predictions can be further used to determine gene targets of orthologous response regulators in closely related species. We demonstrate the applicability of this method by determining the gene targets and binding site motifs and thus predicting the function for a sigma54-dependent response regulator DVU3023 in the environmental bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough.

Inhibitory neurons act in the central nervous system to regulate the dynamics and spatio-temporal co-ordination of neuronal networks. GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. It is released from the presynaptic terminals of inhibitory neurons within highly specialized intercellular junctions known as synapses, where it binds to GABAA receptors (GABAARs) present at the plasma membrane of the synapse-receiving, postsynaptic neurons. Activation of these GABA-gated ion channels leads to influx of chloride resulting in postsynaptic potential changes that decrease the probability that these neurons will generate action potentials.
During development, diverse types of inhibitory neurons with distinct morphological, electrophysiological and neurochemical characteristics have the ability to recognize their target neurons and form synapses which incorporate specific GABAARs subtypes. This principle of selective innervation of neuronal targets raises the question as to how the appropriate synaptic partners identify each other.
To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms, a novel in vitro co-culture model system was established, in which medium spiny GABAergic neurons, a highly homogenous population of neurons isolated from the embryonic striatum, were cultured with stably transfected HEK293 cell lines that express different GABAAR subtypes. Synapses form rapidly, efficiently and selectively in this system, and are easily accessible for quantification. Our results indicate that various GABAAR subtypes differ in their ability to promote synapse formation, suggesting that this reduced in vitro model system can be used to reproduce, at least in part, the in vivo conditions required for the recognition of the appropriate synaptic partners and formation of specific synapses. Here the protocols for culturing the medium spiny neurons and generating HEK293 cells lines expressing GABAARs are first described, followed by detailed instructions on how to combine these two cell types in co-culture and analyze the formation of synaptic contacts.

The zebrafish model has emerged as a relevant system to study kidney development, regeneration and disease. Both the embryonic and adult zebrafish kidneys are composed of functional units known as nephrons, which are highly conserved with other vertebrates, including mammals. Research in zebrafish has recently demonstrated that two distinctive phenomena transpire after adult nephrons incur damage: first, there is robust regeneration within existing nephrons that replaces the destroyed tubule epithelial cells; second, entirely new nephrons are produced from renal progenitors in a process known as neonephrogenesis. In contrast, humans and other mammals seem to have only a limited ability for nephron epithelial regeneration. To date, the mechanisms responsible for these kidney regeneration phenomena remain poorly understood. Since adult zebrafish kidneys undergo both nephron epithelial regeneration and neonephrogenesis, they provide an outstanding experimental paradigm to study these events. Further, there is a wide range of genetic and pharmacological tools available in the zebrafish model that can be used to delineate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate renal regeneration. One essential aspect of such research is the evaluation of nephron structure and function. This protocol describes a set of labeling techniques that can be used to gauge renal composition and test nephron functionality in the adult zebrafish kidney. Thus, these methods are widely applicable to the future phenotypic characterization of adult zebrafish kidney injury paradigms, which include but are not limited to, nephrotoxicant exposure regimes or genetic methods of targeted cell death such as the nitroreductase mediated cell ablation technique. Further, these methods could be used to study genetic perturbations in adult kidney formation and could also be applied to assess renal status during chronic disease modeling.

Neurological injury is a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality from general anesthesia and related surgical procedures that could be alleviated by development of effective, easy to administer and safe preconditioning treatments. We seek to define the neural immune signaling responsible for cold-preconditioning as means to identify novel targets for therapeutics development to protect brain before injury onset. Low-level pro-inflammatory mediator signaling changes over time are essential for cold-preconditioning neuroprotection. This signaling is consistent with the basic tenets of physiological conditioning hormesis, which require that irritative stimuli reach a threshold magnitude with sufficient time for adaptation to the stimuli for protection to become evident.
Accordingly, delineation of the immune signaling involved in cold-preconditioning neuroprotection requires that biological systems and experimental manipulations plus technical capacities are highly reproducible and sensitive. Our approach is to use hippocampal slice cultures as an in vitro model that closely reflects their in vivo counterparts with multi-synaptic neural networks influenced by mature and quiescent macroglia / microglia. This glial state is particularly important for microglia since they are the principal source of cytokines, which are operative in the femtomolar range. Also, slice cultures can be maintained in vitro for several weeks, which is sufficient time to evoke activating stimuli and assess adaptive responses. Finally, environmental conditions can be accurately controlled using slice cultures so that cytokine signaling of cold-preconditioning can be measured, mimicked, and modulated to dissect the critical node aspects. Cytokine signaling system analyses require the use of sensitive and reproducible multiplexed techniques. We use quantitative PCR for TNF-α to screen for microglial activation followed by quantitative real-time qPCR array screening to assess tissue-wide cytokine changes. The latter is a most sensitive and reproducible means to measure multiple cytokine system signaling changes simultaneously. Significant changes are confirmed with targeted qPCR and then protein detection. We probe for tissue-based cytokine protein changes using multiplexed microsphere flow cytometric assays using Luminex technology. Cell-specific cytokine production is determined with double-label immunohistochemistry. Taken together, this brain tissue preparation and style of use, coupled to the suggested investigative strategies, may be an optimal approach for identifying potential targets for the development of novel therapeutics that could mimic the advantages of cold-preconditioning.

Assays based on Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET) provide a sensitive and reliable means to monitor protein-protein interactions in live cells. BRET is the non-radiative transfer of energy from a 'donor' luciferase enzyme to an 'acceptor' fluorescent protein. In the most common configuration of this assay, the donor is Renilla reniformis luciferase and the acceptor is Yellow Fluorescent Protein (YFP). Because the efficiency of energy transfer is strongly distance-dependent, observation of the BRET phenomenon requires that the donor and acceptor be in close proximity. To test for an interaction between two proteins of interest in cultured mammalian cells, one protein is expressed as a fusion with luciferase and the second as a fusion with YFP. An interaction between the two proteins of interest may bring the donor and acceptor sufficiently close for energy transfer to occur. Compared to other techniques for investigating protein-protein interactions, the BRET assay is sensitive, requires little hands-on time and few reagents, and is able to detect interactions which are weak, transient, or dependent on the biochemical environment found within a live cell. It is therefore an ideal approach for confirming putative interactions suggested by yeast two-hybrid or mass spectrometry proteomics studies, and in addition it is well-suited for mapping interacting regions, assessing the effect of post-translational modifications on protein-protein interactions, and evaluating the impact of mutations identified in patient DNA.

The genetic reporter assay is a well-established and powerful tool for dissecting the relationship between DNA sequences and their gene regulatory activities. The potential throughput of this assay has, however, been limited by the need to individually clone and assay the activity of each sequence on interest using protein fluorescence or enzymatic activity as a proxy for regulatory activity. Advances in high-throughput DNA synthesis and sequencing technologies have recently made it possible to overcome these limitations by multiplexing the construction and interrogation of large libraries of reporter constructs. This protocol describes implementation of a Massively Parallel Reporter Assay (MPRA) that allows direct comparison of hundreds of thousands of putative regulatory sequences in a single cell culture dish.

Institutions: University of Warwick, Norwich Research Park, The Australian National University.

Plants adapt quickly to changing environments due to elaborate perception and signaling systems. During pathogen attack, plants rapidly respond to infection via the recruitment and activation of immune complexes. Activation of immune complexes is associated with post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, such as phosphorylation, glycosylation, or ubiquitination. Understanding how these PTMs are choreographed will lead to a better understanding of how resistance is achieved.
Here we describe a protein purification method for nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR)-interacting proteins and the subsequent identification of their post-translational modifications (PTMs). With small modifications, the protocol can be applied for the purification of other plant protein complexes. The method is based on the expression of an epitope-tagged version of the protein of interest, which is subsequently partially purified by immunoprecipitation and subjected to mass spectrometry for identification of interacting proteins and PTMs.
This protocol demonstrates that: i). Dynamic changes in PTMs such as phosphorylation can be detected by mass spectrometry; ii). It is important to have sufficient quantities of the protein of interest, and this can compensate for the lack of purity of the immunoprecipitate; iii). In order to detect PTMs of a protein of interest, this protein has to be immunoprecipitated to get a sufficient quantity of protein.

Using SCOPE to Identify Potential Regulatory Motifs in Coregulated Genes

Authors: Viktor Martyanov, Robert H. Gross.

Institutions: Dartmouth College.

SCOPE is an ensemble motif finder that uses three component algorithms in parallel to identify potential regulatory motifs by over-representation and motif position preference1. Each component algorithm is optimized to find a different kind of motif. By taking the best of these three approaches, SCOPE performs better than any single algorithm, even in the presence of noisy data1. In this article, we utilize a web version of SCOPE2 to examine genes that are involved in telomere maintenance. SCOPE has been incorporated into at least two other motif finding programs3,4 and has been used in other studies5-8.
The three algorithms that comprise SCOPE are BEAM9, which finds non-degenerate motifs (ACCGGT), PRISM10, which finds degenerate motifs (ASCGWT), and SPACER11, which finds longer bipartite motifs (ACCnnnnnnnnGGT). These three algorithms have been optimized to find their corresponding type of motif. Together, they allow SCOPE to perform extremely well.
Once a gene set has been analyzed and candidate motifs identified, SCOPE can look for other genes that contain the motif which, when added to the original set, will improve the motif score. This can occur through over-representation or motif position preference. Working with partial gene sets that have biologically verified transcription factor binding sites, SCOPE was able to identify most of the rest of the genes also regulated by the given transcription factor.
Output from SCOPE shows candidate motifs, their significance, and other information both as a table and as a graphical motif map. FAQs and video tutorials are available at the SCOPE web site which also includes a "Sample Search" button that allows the user to perform a trial run.
Scope has a very friendly user interface that enables novice users to access the algorithm's full power without having to become an expert in the bioinformatics of motif finding. As input, SCOPE can take a list of genes, or FASTA sequences. These can be entered in browser text fields, or read from a file. The output from SCOPE contains a list of all identified motifs with their scores, number of occurrences, fraction of genes containing the motif, and the algorithm used to identify the motif. For each motif, result details include a consensus representation of the motif, a sequence logo, a position weight matrix, and a list of instances for every motif occurrence (with exact positions and "strand" indicated). Results are returned in a browser window and also optionally by email. Previous papers describe the SCOPE algorithms in detail1,2,9-11.

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a valuable technique utilized to localize/visualize protein expression in a mounted tissue section using specific antibodies. There are two methods: the direct and indirect method. In this experiment, we will only describe the use of indirect IHC staining. Indirect IHC staining utilizes highly specific primary and biotin-conjugated secondary antibodies. Primary antibodies are utilized to discretely identify proteins of interest by binding to a specific epitope, while secondary antibodies subtract for non-specific background staining and amplify signal by forming complexes to the primary antibody. Slides can either be generated from frozen sections, or paraffin embedded sections mounted on glass slides. In this protocol, we discuss the preparation of paraffin-embedded sections by dewaxing, hydration using an alcohol gradient, heat induced antigen retrieval, and blocking of endogenous peroxidase activity and non-specific binding sites. Some sections are then stained with antibodies specific for T cell marker CD8 and while others are stained for tyrosine hydroxylase. The slides are subsequently treated with appropriate secondary antibodies conjugated to biotin, then developed utilizing avidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (HRP) with Diaminiobenzidine (DAB) as substrate. Following development, the slides are counterstained for contrast, and mounted under coverslips with permount. After adequate drying, these slides are then ready for imaging.

Site-specific recombinase (SSR) technology allows the manipulation of gene structure to explore gene function and has become an integral tool of molecular biology. Site-specific recombinases are proteins that bind to distinct DNA target sequences. The Cre/lox system was first described in bacteriophages during the 1980's. Cre recombinase is a Type I topoisomerase that catalyzes site-specific recombination of DNA between two loxP (locus of X-over P1) sites. The Cre/lox system does not require any cofactors. LoxP sequences contain distinct binding sites for Cre recombinases that surround a directional core sequence where recombination and rearrangement takes place. When cells contain loxP sites and express the Cre recombinase, a recombination event occurs. Double-stranded DNA is cut at both loxP sites by the Cre recombinase, rearranged, and ligated ("scissors and glue"). Products of the recombination event depend on the relative orientation of the asymmetric sequences.
SSR technology is frequently used as a tool to explore gene function. Here the gene of interest is flanked with Cre target sites loxP ("floxed"). Animals are then crossed with animals expressing the Cre recombinase under the control of a tissue-specific promoter. In tissues that express the Cre recombinase it binds to target sequences and excises the floxed gene. Controlled gene deletion allows the investigation of gene function in specific tissues and at distinct time points. Analysis of gene function employing SSR technology --- conditional mutagenesis -- has significant advantages over traditional knock-outs where gene deletion is frequently lethal.

The completion of the human genome sequence, along with that of many other species, has highlighted the challenge of ascribing specific function to non coding sequences. One prominent function carried out by the non coding fraction of the genome is to regulate gene transcription; however, there are no effective methods to broadly predict cis-regulatory elements from primary DNA sequence. We have developed an efficient protocol to functionally evaluate potential cis-regulatory elements through zebrafish transgenesis. Our approach offers significant advantages over cell-culture based techniques for developmentally important genes, since it provides information on spatial and temporal gene regulation. Conversely, it is faster and less expensive than similar experiments in transgenic mice, and we routinely apply it to sequences isolated from the human genome. Here we demonstrate our approach to selecting elements for testing based on sequence conservation and our protocol for cloning sequences and microinjecting them into zebrafish embryos.

JoVE Visualize is a tool created to match the last 5 years of PubMed publications to methods in JoVE's video library.

How does it work?

We use abstracts found on PubMed and match them to JoVE videos to create a list of 10 to 30 related methods videos.

Video X seems to be unrelated to Abstract Y...

In developing our video relationships, we compare around 5 million PubMed articles to our library of over 4,500 methods videos. In some cases the language used in the PubMed abstracts makes matching that content to a JoVE video difficult. In other cases, there happens not to be any content in our video library that is relevant to the topic of a given abstract. In these cases, our algorithms are trying their best to display videos with relevant content, which can sometimes result in matched videos with only a slight relation.